Triumphs, Failures, and Everything In Between

I Hate Sniffles

I am just getting over a cold I have had for the last few days. Nothing serious, just a typical winter cold bad enough to make me feel completely lousy but not bad enough to go to the doctor. So far, though, no one else in the house has gotten sick, for which I am very grateful.

Back when I worked at my old job and got a cold, the one redeeming part of being sick was staying home for the day. Getting to spend the day on the couch wearing comfy clothes and watching movies while everyone else was at work at least a little bright spot in the midst of sniffles and aches. But alas, that is not the case with a homekeeping job. It’s hard to call in sick to work when work is at your house!

But really, I can’t complain because this little cold has served to remind me of two very important things. 1) I can’t do everything all by myself and I really shouldn’t try, and 2) Big Man is such an awesome husband.

Since becoming a full time homekeeper, I’ve found that one of the biggest things I struggle with is believing that I can and should do everything homekeeping-related by myself. I should do all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, diaper changing, and shopping myself since it is my job. If I’m honest, it is mostly my own pride that makes me resistant to letting others help. In reality, I can’t do everything on my own and I need to learn to ask for and accept help sometimes. So while I do take most of the responsibility for homekeeping, I’m working on accepting help when I need it and not feeling guilty when I do.

The biggest help for me over the last couple of days has been Big Man. My cold happened to coincide with his days off work, which was a blessing, and he basically used all his time off taking care of me and the Little Ones and everything else in the house. He went grocery shopping for me, cooked meals, and entertained the kids so I could rest and sleep. He was such a huge help to me and this cold just reminded me again how blessed I am to have him. Thank you, Big Man, for everything. There’s a big batch of cookies in your future!

It’s good for me to be reminded how much I need others and that I can’t do everything on my own. It helps me be more thankful for all the people God has put in my life. It also helps me remember how much God has done for me since my salvation is none of my own doing. So if I have to get the sniffles every so often to be reminded to be humble and thankful, I guess that’s OK. Maybe I don’t really hate sniffles as much as I thought.